Summary:
The Director of Collections has overall responsibility for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science’s (PMNS) collection of approximately 150,000 items representing 10 disciplines in the natural sciences as well as an archival record. The position will be responsible for the organizing, storing, securing and conservancy of the collection as well as the oversite and maintenance of an accurate database/catalogue of the collection.
In the near term, the Director of Collections will oversee a consolidation and move of the PMNS’s collection from two off-site storage facilities to a newly acquired collections facility. The goal of the move is to rehouse the PMNS’s collection in a space that meets AAM-guidelines for appropriate stewardship and care of natural history collections while making the collections accessible to PMNS staff and outside researchers. The Director, working under the leadership of the Museum’s Chief Operating Officer and aided by 4 full time collections personnel (2 of which fill temporary positions created solely for the move), will finalize the space plan of the new facility, develop and implement a strategy for the move including the deaccession of items as appropriate, rework the Museum’s Collection policies and procedures, and create a Collections Plan to support the needs of the collection moving forward.
Key Accountabilities:
- Plans and oversees the required consolidation, rehousing, and movement of the PMNS’s
collection as directed by the COO - Takes overall responsibility for the Museum’s collections, unless specifically assigned
elsewhere, including organizing, storing, securing and conserving - Leads the development and implementation of a Collections Plan for the PMNS
- Ensures that the collection and curation staff work cooperatively to achieve the highest level
of collection care and productivity across all organizational units of the Museum - Supervises and coordinates the training and work of collections staff and volunteers and
ensures that they manage the collections safely, efficiently and effectively - Develops and maintains retrieval systems to enhance access to and use of the collections
by PMNS staff as well as by approved visiting scholars - Manages appropriate access to the collections, facilitating safe use and responds to
inquiries to provide accurate information related to the collections - Supervises and participates in the accession and deaccession of items from the collections
to ensure these processes are done in accordance with Museum Collection policy,
department procedures, and federal and state law - Provides input for development of an annual budget relative to the need for artifact
conservation and/or preservation needs within the collection area, and manages to this budget annually - Participates in education and other public program activities of the Museum including but not limited to tours for the public and Museum members, and training of museum staff and volunteers
- From time to time, handles inquiries from the public and researchers
- Stays current with the research and trends related to the collections including techniques in collections management, collection-based research, conservation, digitization, biodiversity informatics, and documentation
Position Requirements:
- Minimum of 5 years of demonstrated work experience in collection management of natural
history-based collections - Minimum of 8 years of professional work experience, preferably in a museum or academic
setting - 5 years of managerial and supervisory experience including team coaching and
development - Demonstrated writing, public speaking, research, and organizational skills
- Experience creating, managing and meeting operational budgets
- Database and Informatics Experience: Experience with database software typically used in
natural history collections; working knowledge of common principles of biodiversity
informatics and external data repositories such as VertNet, GBIF, iDigBio, Discovery Profio
Software, and computer applications for library services - Master’s degree in a related field preferred
Essential Physical Functions:
Position requires intermittent standing, walking, sitting, squatting, stretching, lifting and bending throughout the workday. Required to be able to pack and move up to 50 pounds.
Collection groups include: entomology, herpetology, malacology, mammalogy, minerals, ornithology, paleontology, archaeology, the Mudge Library of rare books, and Herb Klein archives.
To Apply:
https://usr55.dayforcehcm.com/CandidatePortal/en-US/perotmuseum/Posting/View/503